Standby racer, simulator specialist, development driver, and one phone call away from a Grand Prix.
An F1 reserve driver is, in the simplest terms, the driver waiting to step in if one of a Formula 1 team’s regular race drivers cannot compete.
If a full-time driver becomes ill, gets injured, or is otherwise unable to race, the reserve driver can end up driving one of the fastest racing cars in the world with very little notice.
That description makes the job sound simpler than it is. A modern Formula 1 reserve driver is usually some combination of substitute, simulator specialist, development driver and extra pair of eyes for the race team.
Formula 1’s own glossary defines a reserve driver as a driver kept on standby to race if a nominated driver cannot compete, while noting that reserves often also perform testing and simulator duties. The role is sometimes referred to as a third driver.
A reserve driver has to be ready to replace either of the team’s regular drivers, sometimes with almost no warning.
That can happen because of illness, injury, suspension, an unexpected medical issue, or another situation that prevents a race driver from competing.
During the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman was called in after Carlos Sainz developed appendicitis. Bearman went from waiting on the sidelines to racing a Ferrari in a Grand Prix. Liam Lawson had a similar opportunity in 2023 when Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand during practice at Zandvoort.
Most weekends the reserve driver will not race at all. If the phone rings, they have to be ready that afternoon.
A reserve driver is not simply sitting in the garage wearing a race suit and waiting for something to go wrong. They can be heavily involved in the team’s weekend.
A typical reserve-driver weekend might include:
They may not be driving the car, but they are still part of the racing operation.
Much of the work happens nowhere near the circuit.
Formula 1 teams use extremely sophisticated simulators to model tracks, setups, upgrades and changing conditions. Reserve and development drivers can spend large amounts of time in these simulators helping engineers understand how the car behaves.
This work can be especially valuable during a race weekend. While the race drivers are physically at the circuit, another driver may be at the factory running alternative setups or testing possible solutions.
The simulator can help answer questions such as:
A reserve driver’s value can be significant even if they never enter a Grand Prix.
Reserve drivers can sometimes take part in Free Practice 1, commonly known as FP1, or in testing programmes. The exact opportunities depend on the driver’s licence status and the team’s plans.
Under the FIA’s current rules, drivers taking part in F1 practice sessions must have the appropriate FIA licence. Full race drivers need a Super Licence, while free-practice-only drivers can compete with a specific Free Practice Only Super Licence.
Teams also have obligations to run rookie drivers during certain practice sessions, and those opportunities often go to junior, test or reserve drivers.
Those sessions are valuable because modern F1 testing is heavily restricted. A young reserve driver may spend hundreds of hours in the simulator but get only a small number of opportunities to drive the current car on a real circuit.
The titles can be confusing because Formula 1 teams often combine several jobs. The easiest distinction is:
| Title | Primary responsibility |
|---|---|
| Reserve driver | Available to replace a race driver |
| Test driver | Evaluates the car in simulator or permitted track testing |
| Development driver | Broader technical development and simulator work |
| Third driver | Another term for a reserve driver |
In reality these roles frequently overlap. A single driver might officially be described as a Test and Reserve Driver, meaning they are both on standby to race and involved in technical work. So the job title matters less than the driver’s actual responsibilities.
Teams need a plan for replacing a driver, but they do not all organise their reserve programmes in the same way. Some teams have one primary reserve. Others have multiple drivers who share the role.
Teams may split reserve duties because drivers often have commitments in other racing championships, which means being an F1 reserve driver does not necessarily mean travelling to every Grand Prix.
Many do. Because a reserve may go an entire season without racing in Formula 1, competing elsewhere is how they stay sharp.
Reserve drivers have competed in Formula 2, Formula E, IndyCar, Super Formula, the World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series while holding an F1 reserve role.
This creates an unusual balancing act. The driver needs to remain committed enough to the F1 team to be available if required, while also maintaining an active racing career elsewhere.
Imagine you are 20 years old and have just completed Formula 2. You have two options:
Neither choice is obviously better. A reserve role gives a young driver direct access to an F1 team, simulator experience, engineering knowledge, time inside the paddock, relationships with team management, occasional FP1 opportunities, and the possibility of suddenly getting an F1 race.
But there is also a major downside: you are not racing regularly. A driver can spend a year learning enormous amounts about Formula 1 without ever competing.
Is it better to be close to Formula 1, or somewhere else actually racing? There is no universal answer.
There are several examples.
Oliver Bearman’s replacement appearance for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia gave him an unexpected chance to demonstrate that he could handle an F1 race weekend. He later became a full-time Formula 1 driver with Haas.
Liam Lawson also entered F1 as a substitute after Ricciardo’s injury and used his reserve opportunities as part of his path toward a full-time seat.
Stoffel Vandoorne stepped in for Fernando Alonso at McLaren in the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix and scored a point on his debut before later becoming a full-time McLaren driver.
A reserve seat is not necessarily a dead end, but it is not a guaranteed promotion either. A driver may put in years of simulator work and never get the chance to race.
This is one of the most difficult situations imaginable for a racing driver. They may have very little preparation.
They might suddenly need to:
And they may need to do all of this within hours. The physical fit alone can be difficult, because F1 cockpits are designed very closely around the regular driver’s dimensions.
At the same time, the substitute driver is under enormous scrutiny. If they perform well, the weekend could transform their career. If they struggle, they may not get another opportunity. That pressure is one reason teams often value reserve drivers with previous F1 experience.
If the reserve driver actually takes part in a Grand Prix, they compete like any other driver. That means they can qualify, race, receive penalties and score Drivers’ Championship points.
The constructor still receives points scored by the car regardless of which eligible driver is racing it. That creates unusual situations where a driver may appear in the championship standings despite competing in only one or two races.
Usually, yes, but there is no standard public F1 reserve-driver salary. Contracts are private and can differ dramatically.
An experienced former race driver who provides significant simulator and development expertise may have a very different agreement from a young academy driver using the reserve position as part of their development programme. Some drivers are simultaneously paid by racing teams in other categories. Others may have broader sponsorship or manufacturer arrangements.
So although you will occasionally see websites publishing precise salary figures, there is no reliable public salary scale for an F1 reserve driver.
That depends entirely on the driver’s career situation.
For an experienced former Formula 1 driver, it can be an excellent way to remain involved with F1 while competing elsewhere. For a young driver, it can be either a doorway into Formula 1, or a year spent watching other people race.
A reserve driver is close enough to Formula 1 to see exactly how everything works, and still one step away from the thing every racing driver wants, which is a seat of their own.
They are Formula 1’s substitute players, except that unlike most substitutes in sport they can go months without competing before taking a call that changes the rest of their career.
Imagine you are twenty. A top Formula 1 team offers you a reserve role, and another team offers you an immediate race seat in a slower car. Which do you choose?
That is the kind of decision you make in Chasing P1, where you play an entire F1 driver’s career from sixteen to retirement. Free, no sign-up, plays in a browser.
Play Chasing P1 →How to become an F1 driver: the real road from karting to Formula 1 : karting, F4, F3, F2, the Super Licence, the academies and the money.